NEVERWORLD
“DREAMSNATCHER”
Album Review By Iron Mathew
8.5/10
Neverworld are a melodic NWOBHM band from the UK formed in 2009 releasing an E.P. in 2010 and their first full length album in 2014. Their second album was released in 2016.
Most bands open an album with a short, bombastic and in your face kind of song to get your attention…not Neverworld, their opening salvo is an eight minute plus epic, with an atmosphere building crescendo of an intro that keeps building until nearly four minutes in when the classic NWOBHM guitar riff kicks in and the vocals begin. Mid tempo in pace and majestic ‘Into The Mouth Of Madness’ is a swaggering stomp of riffs, screaming solos and anthemic style vocals. The title song ‘Dreamsnatcher’ is a corker, with a much heavier riff and touches of the progressive metal genre. It has melodic moments, clean and clear vocals and an infectious rhythm that will keep you hooked until the end. The tempo and intensity is lifted as ‘Armies Of The Night’ rides in on the crest of a riff-tastic wave and chugs relentlessly with a chant of a chorus and one hundred percent sing a long-ability. Neverworld seem to have mastered the art of mid tempo stomps that are both catchy and addictive.
For over thirty years, self proclaimed kings of metal Manowar, have delivered some of the best majestic mid tempo anthemic stomps ever, and Neverworld are following in their foot steps. Only time will tell if they have what it takes to emulate Manowar, but with songs such as ‘Passion Killers’ pounding and thumping its way through the airways, they certainly have, in their arsenal, some bombastic bombs. They can also deliver head banging, fast paced anthems too. In the shape of ‘Under The Asylum’ Neverworld have a song that will bang heads and raise fists in the air. With duelling guitars and a galloping rhythm, ‘Under The Asylum’ is a NWOBHM influenced romp. Majestic and long epic songs with an atmospheric intro is a trademark of British icons Iron Maiden, and Neverworld attempt these too. At over six minutes, ‘Fall Forever’ falls within this category. Building to a crescendo, ‘Fall Forever’ rises up to become a mid tempo, power ballad…yes power ballad. The expectation was that it would “wham, bam” and take off like a rocket, but sadly no, ‘Fall Forever’ remains mid tempo.
Charging out of the speakers with guitars buzzing like a chainsaw, ‘All I Am’ is everything that traditional British heavy metal stands for. Infectious and foot tappingly addictive with a sing a long style chorus ‘All I Am’ is classic heavy metal, and delivered by a British band. Picking up the pace to become a rollicking rocking romp, ‘Awakening’ is an excellent example of melodic heavy metal. The rhythm will infect you, bring a smile to your face and bang your head. ‘Awakening’ is a stand out song. The guitar led ‘The Grand Illusion’ keeps the pace up, with the melodic undertone in full flow. The album has maintained its anthemic nature all the way through and now that the album is coming to a close, Neverworld end it with a nine minute plus epic. ‘Face The Fear’ has an eerie, almost spooky, atmospheric intro that builds the tension and fear…a soulful and slow strained vocal passage follows that takes the song to the two minute mark when all hell breaks loose and the guitars chug and chomp, the drums thunder and the heavy, power metal vibe takes over. With plenty of minutes to fill, there is a large amount of guitar work to admire too.
Overall, heavy and powerful, with a majestic, anthemic feel to the songs, this is an album that will appeal to fans of the Manowar style of heavy metal.
TRACKLIST
Into The Mouth Of Madness
Dreamsnatcher
Armies Of The Night
Passion Killers
Under The Asylum
Fall Forever
All I Am
Awakening
The Grand Illusion
Face The Fear
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